trump (convicted felon, defamer, insurrectionist, contemnor, and rapist - $537M)

[TheNewSaint]

But it does not matter, because he isn't going to fukken win.

After yesterday, I don't think it matters anymore. Trump and his enablers will cook up some scheme to get himself declared president. Either by winning the election, by "winning" the election, or going tO the SCOTUS with all his bogus claims that worked well enough after 2020.

[p0rtia]

[Dr. Ken]

[Ben-Prime]

You will have to be wary of him trying violence when he does lose.

No, the violence will be well prior to the election results being known. Last time, they engaged in various protests at vote tabulation facilities, but otherwise remained relatively peaceful about it. This time, they will breach those facilities, compromise security of the tabulation, and thus provide grounds for calling the results into question.

They're not going to wait around for January 6.

We're going to have good old-fashioned election violence.

I mean, he's not president NOW, right? So acts he takes before becoming President are in no way official acts.

[Kendra]

I'm waiting for the motion to vacate the E Jean Carroll judgments, since he's now got his immunity.

[sad-cafe]

I am seriously scared

if dotard wins or steals the election I don't know what I will do

[raison de arizona]

Trump: If you have ratings, you can be the meanest, most horrible human being in the world. There's only one thing that matters. Ratings. You can be evil, horrible, cruel, or elegant. There's only one thing that matters and that's ratings…

[TheNewSaint]

I am seriously scared

if dotard wins or steals the election I don't know what I will do

I'm getting a plan together, and it involves becoming a digital nomad. Lots of countries have this kind of visa now (thank you COVID). Fortunately i have a stable job that lets me do that.

[p0rtia]

So I lived in Egypt for 17 years. The western world, especially the US, considers Egypt a republic, and a democracy, but yeah, not really. The military has run the country for decades (mostly); they are a sort of merchant class (think Mubarak) and they keep the politcal class in line. They have elections for state (governorate) and national elections, but for president, there is only one name on the ballot.

The gov't is secular (sort of). IMO More secular that the US is right now. Their constitution is full of liberal views (gender equality, freedom of religion, etc.) which are not really available to the lower classes, but get you a pretty good life if you're middle class or rich. Most women have a hell of a time trying to own property--the poor women have no chance, must have a male relative to sign for them. The Coptic churches are regularly vandalized, along with their priceless treasures dating back to Pharaonic times. Birth control is free. Education is free (to a point--it's also terrible). Jobs are guaranteed (but don't expect to get paid more than egg money). A lot of this reflects Egypt's roots in socialism. Graft is the preferred way to get anything done, or to run a business, because no one has any money otherwise (see above). It's more classist than racist, but either way, you stay in your lane,.

The military rulers routinely jail their opponents, particularly the violent ones, along with their families, more or less forever. So that keeps the streets safe for tourism, the number one economic sector.

The poor people are afraid of the gov't, and of the police--not the guys on the street corners, who are imports from Aswan doing their military service, and are usually asleep, but the "other" police. The smart ones with all the power you don't want to cross.

It's a sort of run of the mill authoritarian system. You're free to do a lot, but not everything. The idea of a political party having a platform and getting elected to implement is is laughable. Society is chaotic and horrifying and wonderful by turns. If you don't like the rules, break them, but break them in private. FTR, there is no comparison with places like North Korea and Afghanistan. Egypt breathes and thrives. I thrived in Egypt,

My point is, you can live in an autocracy and do just fine. The chasm between what the ideals are and what is actually happening is wide, but everyone is aware of that and has a healthy cynicism and scorn. The leaders lie on a massive scale, but no one bothers to listen.

This is what we have in the USA now, IMO. Except the gross lying is still actively annoying. I think when we get to the population just accepting the lies and paying no homage to the Constitution, because it doesn't mean anything, there will be no going back.